Landslide fatalities and the evaluation of landslide risk in Italy

A database of landslides that occurred in Italy between 1279 and 1999 and caused deaths, missing people, injuries and homelessness was compiled from a variety of different sources. These included the archive of the National Research Councilʹs AVI (Damaged Urban Areas) project, which compiled information on landslide events in the 20th century in Italy. The sources also included reports on historical landslide investigations for the whole of Italy, Alpine areas, the Apennines, various regions or provinces, and for single sites. Analysis of the database indicates that more than 10,000 people died in a total of 840 landslide events. Fatal landslide events were more frequent in the Alpine regions of Northern Italy and in Campania (southern Italy), and most casualties occurred in the Autumn. Fast-moving landslides caused the largest number of deaths. They included rockfalls, rockslides, rock avalanches and debris flows. The cumulative frequency of landslide events was plotted against their consequences, and the plots were compared to similar curves for the whole Alps and for Canada, Japan, China and Hong Kong. The frequency in Italy was found to be higher than in the Alps, Canada and Hong Kong, but lower than that of Japan and China. Landslide mortality rates were estimated and compared to mortality rates for other natural, medical, and human-induced hazards.